Who Is This Erik?
by chshrkitten
Summary: "Phantom, man, or demon from hell, whatever you are, I will never let you harm Christine!" In which Erik and Raoul have a minor tiff. (Canon-compliant "deleted scene", Leroux-based, no real pairing)


(Setting: just after the masquerade, the black domino meeting, and the mirror scene)

After the turmoil of the day, Raoul was so lost in his thoughts that he made it halfway down the hall before hearing the voice. It called to him softly, pitched just loud enough to be heard over the faint echoes of music from the ballroom downstairs, and when Raoul finally heard it, he stopped dead in his tracks. For it spoke his name!

 _"Le vicomte….de Chagny…."_

Raoul stopped dead in his tracks, looking around in attempt to guess where the whisper could have come from. But the hallway was still the same, ordinary in every way except it's emptiness- everyone in the building was still busy downstairs, where the strangest masked ball Raoul had ever attended was just beginning to wind down.

 _"Le vicomte…"_ the voice whispered again, and this time Raoul recognized it. It was the same voice he had heard only a few minutes ago, echoing so entrancingly from within Christine's mirror. Upon mentally reviewing that last sentence, it occurred to Raoul that maybe he should be worried about his own sanity, but now didn't seem like the right time to be pondering that. "Are you….are you Erik?" He said out loud. For a moment he felt silly, speaking to a hallway that was plainly empty. Until the voice answered.

"You should not know my name, monsieur de Chagny. We haven't been introduced."

Ignoring the clear hypocrisy of that statement, Raoul replied. "I heard Christine call you that. It is your name, isn't it?"

"Yes. And I knew perfectly well that you were there. You know, eavesdropping on a young lady is hardly becoming of a _gentleman_." The last word was spoken with a sardonic edge that Raoul found he rather resented.

"Well, kidnapping isn't exactly the height of propriety either!"

"I am not a kidnapper. Mademoiselle Daaé stays with me of her own free will." The voice said, clearly affronted.

"That's ridiculous!"

"Why?"

"Because…" Raoul paused. "Because one has only to look at her to see how unhappy she is. She is so pale, she looks unwell!"

"No! No, she is happy. She chooses to return, she said that-" the voice broke off suddenly. "Well, it's none of your business what she said to me. The point is that she returns to me."

"Yes, after she went to meet me!" Raoul said indignantly. It occurred to him that if Christine heard him speaking of her affections like a prize to be won, she'd probably kill him. But something in him couldn't let this man have the last word.

"Yes, she went to meet you. And how, exactly, did that meeting end? Do you care to remind me?"

"You were listening?!"

"I hear everything that goes on in my opera house. And I know about everything that my Christine does."

"Oh, she's your Christine now!?"

"She gave herself to me! Every time she sings, she gives my her very heart and soul."

"She doesn't belong to you!" Raoul continued to scan the hallway, but was still unable to see anyone there.

"Oh yes, she does." The voice whispered maliciously, suddenly sounding so close to Raoul's ear that he jumped and whirled around…. again, to see no one.

"I love her! Does that mean nothing to you?" He cried desperately, still turning on the spot, trying to guess the source of the voice that seemed to echo all around him.

"I could ask you the same thing of you, Monsieur le Vicomte," came the cold reply. "Do you think my feelings for her are any less strong?"

"It is not the same thing!"

"Exactly why not? If things had been different-" the voice broke off, starting over. "And after all, she has shown me at least as much preference as you."

"That isn't true!"

"Really?" A trace of smugness had crept into the ghost's tone now. "She has sang only for me, called me her angel, offered me her very _soul_. Can you say the same, Monsieur?"

"Christine only did and said those things because you lied to her! If she knew the truth-"

"And what truth is that?"

"That you're no angel." The boy responded, in a bitter whisper that seemed far too harsh to have left his innocent lips. "And I'm going to prove it to her. Phantom, man, or demon from hell, whatever you are, I will never let you harm Christine."

"A noble sentiment, to be sure," the phantom spoke after a brief pause. "But what if I said that she already knew what I was, knew much more than you do, and still promised to return to me, soon?"

"I'd say you're lying!" Raoul answered without hesitation.

"Ask her then. You will find her at Madame Valerius' home tomorrow morning, and if you really think that what you claim is the truth, ask her and find out. Find out that she is well aware of the situation, and yet remains loyal to me."

"I will. Tomorrow, I _will_ find out the truth, and I'll offer my protection, and she and I _will_ be together, however you try to stop us, because we're in love!" Raoul stopped, feeling rather chagrined at the soft chuckle in response to his words. "We will." He insisted. Something about the simplicity of his own words made Raoul feel rather foolish for no real reason. But before he could contemplate it, the voice was speaking again.

"Oh, whatever you say, I'm sure. After all, life always _has_ had a tendency of working out in your favor. There's no reason it shouldn't this time… except for me."

"Except for you?"

"Except for me. Go find your _love_ , and hear her tell you that she chooses to return to me!"

"I will go to Christine, and we'll figure out together what all of this is about." He vowed, for a moment utterly convinced of the truth of that statement. After all, she did love him, didn't she? Well. There was no point worrying about that right now, he decided. Tomorrow, he would do just as the voice suggested, go see Christine and find out for himself exactly what all this strangeness was. He would go see Christine, and everything would be alright.


End file.
